Pastor's Blog for March 29, 2020

How quickly things change during this pandemic! Since Gov. Mike DeWine issued an order last Monday for Ohioans to stay home and avoid non-essential businesses (though we don’t believe that the Church is a non-essential business!), of course we want to comply as a Diocese and as a parish for the health of all people. So I will repeat here the information we posted on our website since many of those receiving this bulletin may not have the ability to access our website.

Our rectory office and our church/chapel will now be closed until at least April 6th. 

On Monday morning I met with rectory staff and I had a video conference with our Principal and all Parish School teachers. Here’s the message we want to get out to you: though our doors must be closed, our hearts remain open to you during this time. Please feel free to leave a voicemail message in the rectory or for me personally if there is something we can do for you or a question we can answer for you. 

Once you hear the voicemail greeting, you can dial one of these extensions to go directly to that staff person’s voicemail, and they will return the call as soon as they can (but please be patient as they will be working from home). If you don’t choose an extension, it will put you in the rectory office voicemail box. 

Office Manger, Mary Lou Hauck, ext. 100 or press 1

Fr. Schmitz, ext. 105 or press 2

Business Manager, Brenda Basalla, ext. 103

Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan, ext. 102

Principal, Denise Burns, ext. 205

School Secretary, Eileen Breitmeyer, ex. 200

Tuition Manager, Cindy Funari, ext. 203

If you do have internet access, we encourage you to check our website (leothegreat.org) often for the latest news. I’ll do my best to keep the information helpful and relevant. 

Deacon Pat, Joan and I are trying to reach out to parishioners who have called us or whom we know may need a phone call. But again, please reach out to one of us if there is something we can do for you at this time.

We plan on allowing you to view me celebrating the Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (this weekend of March 28th & 29th) so if are able, you can watch it on our website. We are also discussing how we can livestream services during Holy Week according to the diocesan directives, and how we can allow you to pick up palms. 

Please know of my prayers for you daily and join me in reaching out especially to the elderly and the infirm. We pray for all those affected by this virus in any way and ask Mary, Health of the Sick, to intercede for us.

Monday, March 23rd: Concerning the Ohio Stay at Home Order: Rectory & Church Closed

I suspect we all knew it was coming…a shutdown of sorts either for the country or for the state.

Since Gov. Mike DeWine issued an order yesterday for Ohioans to stay home and avoid non-essential businesses (though we don’t believe that the Church is a non-essential business!), of course we want to comply as a Diocese and as a parish for the health of all people.

As a result, our rectory office and our church/chapel will be closed until at least April 6th.

It’s been quite a morning already as I have met with rectory staff and as I had a video conference with our Principal and all Parish School teachers. Here’s the message we want to get out to you: that though our doors must be closed, our hearts remain open to you during this time. Please feel free to leave a voicemail message in the rectory or for me personally if there is something we can do for you or a question we can answer for you. Once you hear the voicemail greeting, you can dial one of these extensions to go directly to that staff person’s voicemail, and they will return the call as soon as they can (but please be patient as they will be working from home). If you don’t choose an extension, it will put you in the rectory office voicemail box.

• Office Manger, Mary Lou Hauck, ext. 100 or press 1

• Fr. Schmitz, ext. 105 or press 2

• Business Manager, Brenda Basalla, ext. 103

• Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan, ext. 102

• Principal, Denise Burns, ext. 205

• School Secretary, Eileen Breitmeyer, ex. 200

• Tuition Manager, Cindy Funari, ext. 203

Once again we encourage you to check here often for the latest news though I suspect there won’t be too much to report once the Stay at Home order begins at midnight today. But I’ll do my best to keep the information helpful and relevant.

Please know of my prayers for you daily and please join me in reaching out especially to the elderly and the infirm. We pray for all those affected by this virus in any way and ask Mary, Health of the Sick, to intercede for us.

Fr. James Schmitz, Pastor

Latest News on COVID-19 from the Pastor

Dear Parishioners of St. Leo,

Now that we have received updated information from the Diocese of Cleveland concerning directives regarding Mass but also for the other sacraments and non-liturgical parish activity as well, I am writing this to bring you up to date on how we as a parish are dealing with the coronavirus.

The Celebration of Mass

As you already know, it was already decided to suspend all public celebrations of Mass and liturgies throughout the Diocese. I am celebrating Mass privately each day in our chapel (though no Mass is really ever “private” as we always pray with and for the entire Church), and I continue to offer these Masses for the individual daily intentions that have been made. So if you had a Mass intention scheduled for this month or next, please be assured that that Mass is still be offered for your loved one or for your particular intention. And of course included in my daily Mass are prayers for you and for all those affected in any way by our current health crisis.

Though the obligation to attend Sunday Mass has been suspended until at least after Easter, there are other ways that you can participate in this great prayer of the Church every day, but especially on Sunday. The diocese is now livestreaming a mass daily at 9:30am on the diocesan website, and the weekend TV Mass will be available on the diocesan website starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  It can also be seen on Fox 8 WJW at 6 a.m. on Sunday. Those with Cox Cable can view the Mass at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on channel 45. Bishop Robert Barron, the popular evangelist who is an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is also live-streaming Mass on his Word-on-Fire website. EWTN also televises the Mass each day and has a video on their website along with the Mass readings for each day. Additional information on such virtual liturgical opportunities can be found here.

Prayer for ourselves and others, especially the greatest prayer we have in the Mass, is the most helpful way we can get through this present situation.

Will our church be open for personal prayer/devotion?

The Diocese has directed that our churches may remain open ONLY if we have taken necessary precautions to perform routine maintenance and can sanitize this sacred space. So we have decided to allow anyone to make use of our chapel area which we will have open from 9am until 3pm Monday through Friday, and from 9am until Noon on Sunday (we will be closed on Saturday). It will be closed at 3pm to allow sufficient time for us to clean and sanitize the chapel and bathrooms for the following day. Please enter the doors closest to the chapel area by the rectory office as these will be the only doors kept unlocked during this time. Since the tabernacle is in that space, it is a good place to come into the presence of the Eucharistic Lord for some quiet time, meditation and prayer. Please do not engage in unnecessary conversation with others for the sake of those who are there to pray. No books will be available as these would need to be cleaned after every use so be sure to bring any prayer books or reading material with you.

Office Hours

For the rest of this week, the rectory office will be opened from 9am until 7pm (Wednesday & Thursday) & from 9am until 3pm on Friday. We will update the office hours for next week soon. The office however will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays until further notice.

Confession

Confessions are to be listed to being in danger of death. We are not able to provide confession via technology. Please call the parish (216-661-1006) in the case of an emergency and danger of death.

Funerals

These are the directives of the Diocese regarding funerals at this time: If at all possible, it is recommended that a memorial Mass be scheduled at a time when the current restrictions are lifted. The Rite of Committal may be celebrated at the cemetery with immediate family members only, keeping in mind the call for social distancing. If a funeral Mass is celebrated, the attendees are limited to immediate family members only. Families are encouraged to make note in the published obituary that the funeral Mass and burial are private family-only events. Keep in mind the maximum number of persons in attendance according to government directives.

Holy Communion to the Sick and Homebound

We are urged to bring Holy Communion to the sick and homebound only when absolutely necessary.

What if I or a loved one is sick and needs the support of the Church at this time?

We are happy to speak with you or a family member over the phone and to join you in prayer. Please give us a call at 216-661-1006.

What about meetings and other gatherings at the parish?

All classes, sessions and meetings are to be cancelled regardless of the number of attendees/participants. This means that all scheduled meetings or gatherings at the Parish Community Center will need to be canceled. This includes the Video Series scheduled during Lent. Of course any money paid for the rental of the Parish Center will be fully refunded.

ParishFish Fry

We will continue to offer our Fish Fry this week but with take-out only. All future Fish Fry’s for this year will be cancelled.

Communication

We will continue to publish a weekly parish bulletin in pdf format here on our website and will have a few hard copies available in our rectory office. The best way for you to remain connected with the parish during this time is through regular visits to this website which we will keep updated as soon as new information is available. You can also keep track of news announcements through our social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and through our free mobile app for Android and iPhone. You can also subscribe to our free email service called Flocknote which is very easy to use. You can have bulletins, funeral announcements, news, etc. sent to you without you having to remember to check our website. I continue to remain busy each day in the rectory office but will always be available to you when needed. It is best to call (216-661-1006) but please know that I may not be able to get back to you right away due to scheduled appointments or the daily responsibilities that can be so unpredictable. But I will be happy to return the call as soon as I am able. You may also contact me via a text or call my cell phone at 440-670-2091. Most of the time I allow calls to go to voicemail as I get a lot of spam calls but feel free to leave a message. I will usually be able to reply to texts or emails faster than phone calls. My email address is jschmitz@leothegreat.org and again, I’ll respond as soon as I am able (I receive many phone calls, texts and emails each day and it can be a challenge to keep up!). But I’m always happy to talk to you so reach out when I can be of assistance.

Contributions

Finally, many have asked how they can keep up with their weekly contributions while weekend Mass is suspended. You can mail your envelope to us or drop it off at the rectory office (you can put it in the mail slot of the door if the rectory office is closed). But perhaps this would be a great time to sign up for our online giving. It’s called WeShare and is extremely easy to sign up. It gives you the option of donating one-time only or on a weekly or even monthly basis. You can change or stop it at any time. And if you don’t do technology or have a computer at home, we are more than happy to take care of this for you here. Just give us a call.

If you like the idea of online giving but are not interested in signing for WeShare, we hope to have something available on this website which will allow you to use a credit or debit card to make a one-time donation securely. Watch for the announcement coming soon.

Many churches (like businesses) will suffer financial losses during this time of social distancing so anything you can do to continue your contributions would be very much appreciated.

Conclusion

That’s a lot of information for you to digest but I hope it’s helpful to you. I want you to know that I pray for you daily (as I did before this health situation) and that we are here to serve you, especially during such challenging times. Please reach out to us for help.

Fr. James Schmitz, Pastor

Pastor's Blog for March 15, 2020

Since the common wisdom regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) issue had been the normal precautions for the common flu (washing hands often, avoid touching face, etc.), I have not written about it here until now. However having just received a letter from the Diocese regarding the latest news and liturgical guidelines, I will outline that information here.

First, we are instructed that all priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are to wash their hands with soap and water prior to the celebration of Mass. A hand sanitizer may be used prior to the distribution of Holy Communion (this is our common practice anyway here at St. Leo’s). All Communion ministers should again wash their hands after the distribution of Holy Communion (you may use the restrooms in the vestibule of the church to do this or the one in the sacristy or the sacristy/server’s room sink).

The distribution of the Precious Blood to liturgical ministers and the faithful is to be suspended. As Catholics, our faith informs us that the whole Christ, that is his Body and Blood, is present when only the host is received. So we will not offer the cup at Mass until further notice from the Diocese that it is permissible to do that.

The invitation to the Sign of Peace, although a regular part of our liturgical practice, is always an option. Therefore at that point in the Mass, after the priest says, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” and you respond, “And with your spirit,” the priest will simply invite you to turn and simply gesture the sign of peace to those around you, which means that you can just offer a wave of your hand or a bow of your head to those around you. I would also advise that you do not hold hands during the Our Father if that is your custom or shake hands when you greet people before or after Mass. That may be a hard habit to break but we can adjust if we are conscientious.

Finally, we are instructed to empty our holy water fonts and baptismal fonts (after we just got ours fixed!) so you will notice that these will be drained.

And of course we will be offering a weekly intention for the prevention of the virus and for those affected during the “Universal Prayer” or the petitions after the Apostles Creed (which we use during Lent & Easter).

A small reminder that there will be a video shown in the Parish Community Center after the 8am Mass this Sunday and next. See the bulletin or Deacon Pat or Joan Berigan for more information.

As previously announced, we will be offering the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick during the homily time at the 4pm Mass this weekend. We offered it during the 11am Mass last Sunday & will do the same at the 8am Mass next week. Of course you are encouraged to ask me for that at any time you feel a need for it.

Our Fish Fry’s are going great so far. Remember to join us (we take credit cards now too!). And don’t forget about our Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 7pm. No credit card needed.

Pastor's Blog for March 8, 2020

Some parishioners reminded us (thank you) that it’s been a while since we’ve celebrated the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick during weekend Mass. I like to do this at least twice a year and it’s actually been over a year since we last did this. So this Sunday we will offer the sacrament during the 11am Mass. Next weekend it will be offered during the 4pm Mass (March 14th) & the following Sunday during the 8am Mass (March 22nd). If you are experiencing a serious illness, or would just like to be anointed due to "advanced age" (your call, not mine!), the Church invites you to receive this sacrament whereby we pray for healing in whatever way God chooses to give it to us, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. Many people ask me to anoint them at other times after Mass when they are facing a surgery or serious medical procedure and I am very happy to do that as well whenever requested. So feel free to ask so that the Church's prayers and God’s sacramental grace may accompany you.

Our first Fish Fry went very well. We had about 1⁄2 take out and 1⁄2 eat in. The menu varies slightly from year to year so as to provide both stability but also variety. But due to popular request, we are now offering the opportunity to pay by credit card. You can swipe (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover) or tap (using Apple Pay or Google Pay) or insert (for a card with a chip). So all the options available with a credit card. This will be in addition to checks or cash. So be sure to join us this Friday for a great meal and enjoyable company. And don’t forget the Lobster meal that will be offered on Friday, March 27th. You must purchase tickets for this in advance through our rectory office.

A few years ago the Diocese began to offer an “Evening of Confessions” which takes place at every parish of the Diocese to make it convenient for people to take advantage of this sacrament of forgiveness. The Evening of Confessions for this year is this Wednesday, March 11th, from 5-8pm. Again, that should be offered at every parish, and of course will be available in our own. I will be here along with Father O’Grady and perhaps Father Vesely as well (at least for part of the time). Please enter through the doors by the chapel where there will be handouts you are welcome to use to help you prepare for your confession. There are 2 reconciliation rooms in the hallway off of the chapel and the name of the priest inside is on the door. As always you can choose to sit face to face with the priest or you can sit or kneel behind the screen. The Act of Contrition (prayer of sorrow) is always displayed so you need not worry about remembering it. We especially welcome those who have been away from the sacrament and for some that may have been for several years. Remembering what Jesus said about there being “more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner,” we are truly happy to receive with joy anyone who has been away from the Church and/or sacrament for some time. This is the time to return!